With a lot of wealth and influence comes a lot of responsibility. America’s most wealthy have the ability to stimulate change with the swipe of a pen. Unfortunately, not all of them do. Microsoft and Apple Inc. are two of the largest and most well known, well producing American businesses. Initially, Bill Gates received a ton of scrutiny for the lack of funds he was giving away. However, once he and his wife decided to use the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in 2000 to give away their fortune naysayers began singing his praises. Bill Gates’ generosity has created a fantastic face for philanthropy and generally put Microsoft “in the clear” of being labeled “greedy.” Unfortunately, when it comes to philanthropy comparing Microsoft and Apple isn’t really a contest. Steve Jobs, former Apple CEO, has a sparse record when it comes to philanthropy that has afforded him a little more scrutiny.

To be fair, it is not that Jobs has never been involved in philanthropy. Bono, singer in the pop band U2, is the founder of the (Product)RED campaign. After Jobs was critiqued in a New York Times article Bono stated that Apple’s support of his campaign was “invaluable.” He further claimed that “through the sale of (RED) products, Apple has been (RED)’s largest contributor to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.” Apple helped AID’s victims in Africa in a really tangible and significant way–providing millions of dollars towards material support. They advanced the idea that health insurance is a human right. They may not have been providing personal health insurance like we have in the U.S. but they were providing medicine to the masses etc.

Other than supporting (RED) products, Apple showed its support of civil rights in 2008 when it gave $100,000 to a group looking to block Proposition 8, a ballot that would have banned same-sex marriage in California. These contributions are fantastic, but considering the amount Apple could give they seem to come up short.

Jobs had always been a private person. By the time he stepped down on August 24th most of his pubic appearances occurred when he was showing off a new Apple product. So it is possible that Jobs’ philanthropy has been vast but anonymous. However, the amount of money that Jobs has accrued (around $8.3 billion from Apple alone) would be hard to move without making any noise.

It seems odd that the billionaire has had little influence in the philanthropic community. For one, by the time Jobs stepped down he was working at Apple for the salary of $1 a year. Additionally jobs has been quoted saying “My main reaction to this money thing is that it’s humorous, all the attention to it, because it’s hardly the most insightful or valuable thing that’s happened to me.” Clearly Jobs’ money is not the reason he’s kept working. So why keep it?

It’s possible that Jobs will make a turn toward philanthropy now that his responsibilities at Apple have been largely decreased. In the absence of Jobs, Apple’s philanthropy has already taken a turn for the better. Tim Cook, the capable new CEO of Apple, has reestablished Apple’s charitable matching program; one of the first things to go when Jobs returned to the company.

The announcement of Cook’s positive change was made Thursday in a company email. Hopefully this change will be the first of many that can steer the behemoth of Apple back on the right track. Apple is such a force of innovation in our world that having their powers used for the good of humanity could be invaluable.